Someone Had an Interesting Night
by Modern Guru
Summary: Neal and Daine get into some tricky situations. How do they get out of them? Read to find out... RR!
1. A Headache in the Morning

Disclaimer: Only the idea is ours.... the rest belongs to Tamora Pierce.

  
  


A/N: Hi everyone!!! Hope you like our D/N fic! hehe.... REVIEW OR ELSE!

  
  
  
  


Daine yawned as the sun shone brightly in her eyes. She rarely woke up after sunrise, but the previous night had been an unusual one. Trying to remember what happened, she ruefully shook her head, letting out a prolonged sigh. Her bare feet met the chilly wood floor as she pushed away the tangled sheets and stood up. She flopped back down onto the bed just as quickly as she had stood up, feeling dizzy. Gently, closing her eyes, she stood up again, this time more slowly. 

She looked at the things strewn across her desk; a hairbrush, miscellaneous papers, the sapphire eardrops Numair had given her for midwinter, hair ties, and an open jar of face paint. A space had been made for a porcelain basin filled with steaming water. A servant had attended to Daine's rooms before she had woken up. There was only so much that could be done in one morning, however, considering the state of her rooms. She had been so busy with jobs from the King and her own personal affairs that there hadn't been time to clean up after herself. She groaned as she bent down to splash her face with water. It felt that although she hadn't gotten much sleep, she had aged quite a few years in those few hours. Once that was done with, she tugged the hair brush through her exceptionally messy locks, her actions punctuated in a small yelp as she hit herself with the heavy brush handle, not yet conscious enough to do simple chores. 

After the painfully long time it took her to make herself look presentable, she sat back down on the bed, rubbing her throbbing temples with her fingers. Wait... something was wrong... Kitten! Where was Kitten? For a few short moments she began to panic, getting up and frantically searching the large rooms for any sign of the young dragon. She stopped just as she was getting on her hands and knees to look underneath the large four-poster bed, remembering the dragon's whereabouts. 

"Oh thank the Goddess, I left her with Lindhall," she said aloud to herself. She plopped down rather ungainly on the floor. Eventually, the ache in her belly motivated her to stand up and make some tea. 

With tea on the kettle and herself dressed and clean, she sat back down in a chair, her head in her hands and elbows on her knees. A very loud noised interrupted her rest. She was puzzled for a moment until she heard it again; a knocking on the door. Out of habit, she got up and went to the door, even though she didn't feel like seeing anyone. She turned the knob and pulled. The door didn't budge. The knocking came again, even louder now. Her blurry vision cleared, allowing her to see that the door was locked- something she rarely did. She fumbled with the lock until it clicked open and tugged at the heavy door once again, this time to reveal the Lioness. She smiled weakly at Daine, looking as if she too had slept later than usual. She was holding a silver tray with a simple breakfast. 

"I thought you might be hungry. You haven't eaten yet, have you?"

"No. Actually, I slept in this morning. Would you like some tea?" Alanna nodded and Daine disappeared into another room. Once there, she sat down to fight off another headache. Daine, get a grip on yourself, she thought, as she steeled herself to get up. She bustled around, preparing the tea for Alanna and herself, stopping every now and then to clear her head.

"Daine, are you all right in there? You're taking a long time!" Alanna called from the other room. 

Ouch. I wish she didn't have such a loud voice. "Almost done!" she called out, forcing her voice to sound cheery. Picking up the steaming cups of tea, she walked back to where Alanna was seated. She handed her a cup and sat down across from her. "So, what brings you here today?" she asked the Lioness, taking a sip of her tea. She could feel the warmth spread through her body.  
"Well, Numair's away on his magely duties, so I thought I'd keep you company this morning." Daine winced at her voice and this didn't escape Alanna's quick eye. "What happened? Are you all right?"

Daine shook her head briefly. "My head feels as if I've been up doing wild magic all night," she explained. The lady knight scrutinized Daine, taking in the bags under her eyes, and her disheveled state.. Then, suddenly she smiled. Daine scowled. "What's so funny?"

"I should've guessed. Years after taking care of Coram, and it took me this long to understand!"

"Some of us are still in the dark here," Daine said dryly.

Alanna grinned. "You're drunk. Or you were last night. Now you just have a hangover."

Daine's jaw dropped. "Me? Drunk?"

"Let me go make my specialty…a hangover cure." She disappeared into the other room.

Daine put her head in her hands. "Mithros, Mynoss, and Shakith! How in the Mother Goddess's name did I get drunk?"

Alanna chuckled from the other room. "The question is not how did you get drunk, but what you did during that time."

Daine sat up straight. "That's not funny! I could've done something horrible! I could've punched the King, for all I know!"

"Well, don't worry, it would've done him some good." Alanna walked back into the room, and sat down next to Daine. She handed Daine another cup of a fuming liquid with a rather bad smell. "Drink."

Daine puckered up her nose. "Do I have to?"

"Now you sound like Coram. Yes." 

Daine lifted up the cup, held her nose, and swallowed the vile fluid in one gulp. "Ugh." She lowered the cup, and suddenly her head started to clear, and it didn't hurt as much to look out of the window.

"It's rather odd, though, because Sir Neal was drunk as well. Though that's not unusual, he couldn't remember what had happened either. Maybe you were with him…what?"

Daine had dropped the cup. Memories flooded her head, and she wished she could forget them again. 

"Daine... what's going on? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, really. I'm just not feeling like myself this morning. Perhaps I should go get some rest. I do feel a little better thanks to your cure, though." Daine stood up and got a towel. She placed it over the new wet spot on the floor. 

"Are you sure you don't want help cleaning? Maybe I should stay here and just make sure you're all right."

"I promise you, I'm fine. I'm sure you have things to do anyway. Thanks, Alanna." Alanna nodded, still unsure of leaving the young woman alone in her unstable state. 

"I'm coming back to check on you in a little while. You're probably right. You just need some rest."

"I'll be fine. Bye!" She smiled as she closed the door behind her friend. The smile quickly faded and she frowned, on the verge of tears, but she would not let them come. She walked back to the mess she had made and began to pick up pieces of the broken cup. She needed to talk to someone. A certain someone in particular. She hadn't even had the courage to confront Alanna about her problem so she wasn't sure how it would ever be solved. Once the mess had been cleaned up, Daine realized that she wasn't going to be able to think logically about anything right now. She would rest as she had said she would and worry about her problems later. 

  
  


Daine awoke to a very similar scene except the sun was no longer shining brightly. At least she felt better. She realized that it was a knocking on the door which had woken her. Checking the mirror to make sure she was presentable-looking, she opened the door. It was Alanna. 

"Told you I'd come check on you. Feeling better?"

"Much," Daine said. Truthfully, she had wanted more time to think things over for herself before seeing anyone. Oh well. She would just have to put up a facade for now. 

"The dinner bell just rang. You must be starving. Come on," the Lioness said, taking hold of Daine's arm.

"Shouldn't I at least change my clothes first?"

"No need for that. You look fine." She resumed walking down the halls, which were very drafty during this time of year, dragging Daine behind her at her fast pace. When they had gotten far away enough from Daine's rooms and Alanna felt satisfied that Daine would follow her, she released her hold. They continued along the dark, winding halls in silence. They both knew their way around the palace unconsciously. 

  
  


Daine looked around to see who was taking a meal in the great hall. She saw the royal family, nobles, knights, and guests visiting the palace. She thought for a moment. She wasn't any of those things. She could hardly be called a noble. For the first time in a long time, she thought of her parents. She was God-born. But she shook away those thoughts and somewhere in her mind she was reminded of the things she liked to think about. She loved her work and it kept her more than occupied. She was on the King's council which was an honor, really. She had reliable friends like Onua and the Lioness and Numair. Numair... Oh Goddess, what had she done?! He would think that she didn't love him anymore. He would think that she took the opportunity while he was away to.... She had to clear this up. She stood up, no longer feeling so hungry and walked over to a table of young knights. Neal was among them. Alanna just stared after her, not getting a chance to ask where she was going. Daine walked up behind Neal and bent down beside him. 

"Can I please have a word with you? Alone?" She added when she saw that he made no motion to stand up. He nodded.

"Excuse me," he said to his friends. Daine didn't look at them. She began walking towards the door as Neal followed behind her. When they were outside, he closed the heavy door behind them.

"What was it-" he began. 


	2. Surprise!

A/N: hihi everyone. Lady Swathi wrote this part. We're taking turns. Hope you like it. REVIEW!!! Thanks to everyone who reviewed our first chapter... now go do it again. We really like reviews!

  
  


Disclaimer: No, surprisingly the characters and settings do not belong to us. They belong to Tamora Pierce... you know the drill. 

  
  


"Shh, Neal. We can't talk here." She grabbed him by his arm and dragged him through the hallways, until they reached her room again. She put her key in it, opened the door, and walked in. Once inside, she let go of him.

"Sit." He sat. As soon as she had taken her seat across from him, he tried to talk again.

"Dai-"

"Wait, Neal. Before you say anything, do you remember last night? At all?"

Neal leaned back in his chair, putting his arms behind his head and grinning. "Last night? I remember that I finally coaxed you to come out of your room for a bit of fun. We went into town and drank. And that's all I remember. I hope you didn't have to drag me all the way home, my head is still pounding." The corners of his eyes crinkled as he frowned. "Why? What's the matter?"

Daine bit her lip, and put her head in her hands. Steeling herself, she raised her head and looked Neal straight in the eye. "Neal, I got drunk as well last night. For maybe the second time in my life. And unlike you," she stopped and sighed. "Unlike you, I remember exactly what happened. Maybe a bit too well."

Neal stared at Daine. It was obvious he was very confused from the puzzled look in his eyes. "I don't understand, Daine."

Daine took a deep breath, and leaned forward, clenching the arms of the chair she was sitting in. She had to tell him. It was now or never. "Neal, last night we went home together. And, er, that is, we went, ahem, back up to your room. Both of us." She finished her sentence very quietly, her voice trailing away into nothing. 

Neal leaned forward, brought up his hand to his ear, and rubbed it vigorously. "Did you say we went up to my room? The two of us?" Daine nodded miserably. Neal closed his eyes. "So that means, that we….well, you know." Daine nodded again, leaning back. Neal opened his eyes. "Yuki will kill me." He was grinning again.

Daine stared at him, and was certain her jaw was touching the floor. "What in Mithros's name is so funny?"

Neal was laughing now, and couldn't stop. "I can't…help…it. The…two of us! When I was younger, I used to dream about that!"

Daine stood up, livid. "Neal, are you still drunk? Have your senses dimmed? WE HAD SEX! And both of us have significant others!"

Neal took a deep breath and stopped laughing. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I think I was having an hysterical reaction. I think we will just have to explain ourselves and tell the truth to Yuki and Numair. In every philosophy book I've read, the writer always says it is best to tell the truth."

Daine sat back down, glad he had stopped laughing for the time being. But at this moment, that wasn't the least of her problems. "It's not that easy," she said, playing with the edge of her tunic.

Neal's brows furrowed together. "Why not? I'm not guaranteeing that they'll be pleased, but I'm sure they'll understand. Though I bet Yuki won't ever let me out of the house again," he mused.

Daine was sure she was blushing, but it had to be said so that Neal could understand the gravity of the situation. "Neal." She stopped, not sure how to voice what she wanted to say.

"What is it, Daine?" He paled. "I didn't get you pregnant, did I?"

Daine almost laughed out loud. "No!"

Neal let out his breath. "Thank the Goddess. What is it then?"

Daine focused back on her hands. "Mithros help me, Neal. Last night was," she took a deep breath and continued, "my first time."

Neal's eyebrows shot up, and he paled again. "You mean you hadn't consummated your relationship with Numair yet?"

"I didn't feel ready! And then you come hopping along with the promise of a good time, get me drunk, and make me fair forget Numair! I wanted him to be the one!" She was ashamed as she felt a tear leak out of her eye.

Neal saw the tear, stood up, and strode across to her. "Oh Gods, Daine, I never meant for it to happen," he said, pulling her into him.

"What will Numair say?" Daine leaned into him as more tears started to crawl down her face.

Neal affectionately kissed the top of her head. "Daine, it will be all right. You'll see."

Daine didn't want him to be so nice to her. She wanted someone to yell at her for the horrible thing she had done. Unprepared by his comforting, she let the tears flow readily.

Neal rocked her back and forth, unsure at what to do. He felt her shudder a couple of times, and then she was silent. He pulled back to look at her, and she let out a yawn. "I feel so tired," she said dully. "It must be a side effect of Alanna's hangover cure."

Neal nodded solemnly. "Then you should sleep, Daine." He slid his arms under her and lifted her up easily as she gave no resistance. He carried her to her bed and put her down.

"Sweet dreams, Wildmage," he said softly. She muttered something in response, and rolled over. He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him, and continued walking until he was out of Daine's quarters altogether. As he walked down the dark hall, he kept his eyes on the floor, trying to puzzle out the consequences of last night's actions.

A cheery voice interrupted his reverie. "Good afternoon, Neal." Neal looked up, and felt the blood rush out of his face. Chuckling, the voice answered, "Yes, I know it's a surprise, but it turned out I wasn't needed so badly after all. So, I'm back." Waiting for a response from Neal, and realizing there wasn't going to be one, he continued. "Well, I must be going now. I'll see you another time." The owner of the voice waved, and continued down the hallway.

Neal finally found his voice. "Yes, another time, Numair."


	3. Discussions

A/N: Sorry everyone for keeping you waiting for so long. I've been really busy/lazy and just haven't gotten much writing done. Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Numair didn't think he had ever felt this happy before. He smiled to himself as he walked with a skip in his step down the hall to the rooms he shared with his lover, Daine. He couldn't wait to surprise her. He knew she would be just as happy as he was that his work was cut short allowing for his early return. Whistling, he reached the heavy wooden door with two nameplates; an older, more tarnished one with Numair Salmalin engraved onto it and a new, shiny bronze plate saying Daine Sarasri. He took out his keys and unlocked the door. He swung it open and threw down his bags in a dramatic gesture.

"Magelet!" he called out to her. There was no reply. "Daine, are you here?" Still there was no answer. He assumed she must be out helping Onua with the riders or perhaps meeting with the King. He felt his excitement deflate into disappointment as he realized that Daine wasn't at home. Dejectedly, he went to his room to change his clothes after a long day of traveling. Upon entering his room, flaunting a lavish decor and a large four-poster bed, he started. Daine was lying on their bed, on top of the blankets and fully dressed all the way to her shoes. He walked to the bed slowly and sat down next to her. As he gently touched her shoulder, he whispered, "Magelet, wake up. I'm home." She stirred slightly. He gave her a light shake which caused her to open her eyes and stretch her arms over her head. After a lengthy yawn, her attention focused on Numair. Her face did not fashion the expression of excitement and joy Numair had expected. It almost looked like she was afraid of him. She quickly replaced her expression from shock to that of joy he had expected to see. However, it did not seem genuine.

"You're home early! I wasn't expecting you." She reached forward and wrapped her arms around his neck in a big hug. He returned the hug and then rewarded her with a short, but sweet, kiss.

"I know. It turned out to be a quite minor problem that could have been taken care of by any common mage. Are you alright? Why were you sleeping in your clothes?"

"Oh... uh... I just fell asleep. I guess I was tired out. I was working with Onua all day yesterday in the barracks." She surprised herself at how easily the lie came to her. For a moment she pondered if she should just get things off her chest right away and tell him what a horrible mistake she had made. Just as quickly, she determined that this was not the time for him to find out. She didn't have the heart to ruin his good mood.

"Well, then. In that case you should get some more sleep." He kissed her forehead and, forgetting to change his clothes, left their rooms. Mechanically, he walked down the hall towards the King's study. He would have to make a long and boring report of the events of his trip. But somehow today, he didn't seem to mind so much.

* * *

Neal paced back and forth. His pacing made the room seem unusually small. His brow creased in distress as he wrung his hands and scolded himself aloud.

"How could I have been so careless?" He threw himself down on the bed, feeling foolish for doing such a horrible thing to Daine and to Yuki. Suddenly the room went dark. A loud thunder crack sounded as the wind picked up. Neal stood up and blindly felt his way to the window to shut out the approaching storm. Next, he reached the desk and groped for a candle and the proper tools to light it with. He cursed, trying and failing to re-light the candle. After many failed attempts and many vulgar words, light filled the small room once again. He realized only after this struggle that he could have simply used his gift. In a sudden fit of fury he made an overly dramatic gesture of exasperation.

He looked at the things he had carelessly strewn across the desk and picked up the item that best held his interest; a dark glass bottle filled with burning liquid. He took a long swig from the bottle and sat back down on the bed, his elbows on his knees, his right hand clutching the bottle around it's neck. The beverage soothed him and encouraged a smirk to cross his handsome features. The more he thought about the incident, the more he remembered. He liked what he remembered. He took another sip from the bottle.

He knew what he was doing. He knew how senseless it was to drink instead of facing his problems. After all, that was what had caused the trouble in the first place. But he chose to disregard the things his common sense told him. The kind of things Yuki would be telling him right now if he were not avoiding her. She wouldn't take the news of his "mistake" gracefully. She wouldn't accept his drunkenness as any kind of excuse either, due to the fact that she disapproved of drinking.

So, here he was, hiding in the old room he had kept as a squire, drinking a beverage that was causing him to feel slightly dizzy. A noise from behind the wall on the opposite side of the room made him sit up abruptly. He finished off the bitter liquid before pushing himself up off the bed and staggering over to the door connecting his room to the room next to it. Hesitantly, he knocked. The door flew open, throwing him off balance. When he became orientated, he found himself on the floor looking up at a very angry lioness.

"Nealan of Queenscove! What on earth are you doing here?" Apparently, he had caught her at a bad time. Her hair was down, and fell in a messy mane around her head and shoulders. She wore a plain ruby colored dress.

"Uh... Why, the Lioness! Just the brave knight I was looking for!" He laughed nervously.

"Don't try to flatter me, boy. Get off the floor and come in." He did as he was told and sat down in a velvet upholstered chair Alanna pulled out for him. "What were you doing in that room? I thought I was rid of you once you were knighted."

"I was looking for you. I needed to talk to someone." At this, Alanna raised an eyebrow.

"Then talk." She held up a pitcher in offering with a questioning expression on her face, but he simply shook his head. She poured herself a glass and then settled back in her chair, letting out a slight grunt of pain as she sat down. Neal watched her and waited until she was settled.

"I've done a horrible thing. Yesterday afternoon I was helping Daine with some things and she mentioned that Numair was away. She seemed rather lonely because she kept mentioning how grateful she was that I was there helping her and that I was such nice company. Well finally it was dinner time and we parted ways. When night rolled around and I was left with nothing to do because Yuki was busy helping Her Highness the Queen. Well, I went to Daine's rooms and although it took some persuading, I finally convinced her to come into town with me. We went to the Dancing Dove and had quite a nice time, drinking and laughing and such. Finally we went home together. I mean, together. Both of us went to my rooms. And you could only imagine what happened. And the poor thing, I had no idea but-" He trailed off. It was the first time he had taken a breath since he had begun. "Maybe you already know this, but she and Numair hadn't... they haven't... I was her first..."

"Yes, Neal, I understand." Alanna sighed and rubbed her forehead with her hand. Things were starting to come together. It certainly explained Daine's strange behavior.

"Well, now Numair is home, and I still haven't spoken to Yuki. I feel horrible Alanna. I could have taken every possession Daine owns and it would not have been worse than what I did. Not to mention Yuki. I love Yuki, and I never intended to hurt her." Neal hesitantly looked up at Alanna. He looked expectant, waiting for some kind of response.

"Neal."

"Yes?" His former knight mistress still made him nervous. He could tell she was angry, yet she seemed sympathetic as well.

"No more drinking. And I suggest you talk to Yuki and pray she doesn't kill you. I'll talk to Daine tonight and make sure she's alright." He only nodded. "You should go get some rest, it's getting late." She stood up indicating that he should do the same. However, he stood up too quickly and stumbled. Alanna moved towards him and held onto his arm to steady him. She looked at him sternly and shook her head.

"Goodnight. Thank you for listening."

"Take care of yourself, Neal. G'night."


	4. Surprising Confrontations

He steeled himself. It was now or never; if only his head wasn't buzzing so much. He raised his hand up to the heavy wooden door in front of him and knocked. "Come in," a cheerful voice said. He opened the door and walked in. The owner of the voice smiled up at him until she noticed the look on his face. "What's wrong?"

1. He sat down hard in the chair opposite her. He was almost glad his head hurt so much because it was forcing him to get this over with so he could just fall into a worry-less sleep afterward.

"Yuki, I've done a horrible thing."

"What? What is it, Neal?" The stricken look on his face was starting to worry her.

"Promise not to interrupt until I'm done?" She nodded, a grim look taking over her pretty features. Neal took a deep breath and began.

* * *

Sitting up in bed, Daine felt better physically than she had all day. Alanna's cure had finally worked and she was thinking clearly again. But internally, Daine felt horrible. How could lying have come so easily to her? And how could she have lied to Numair? Now she had two wrongs to deal with instead of one. Suddenly she had the feeling of someone watching her. She looked up sharply only to relax once she saw familiar violet eyes. "Hello, Alanna. How long have you been waiting for me to get up?"

"About ten minutes actually," Alanna answered briskly.

Daine yawned and rubbed her arms. "Was there a reason you wanted to see me?"

As usual, the Lioness did not beat around the bush. "You need to tell Numair."

Daine felt her face fall. "Neal told you," she said blankly.

"Yes, he did. And it was a good thing he did too. Daine, I've known Numair for a long time. And I've learned one thing. He is extremely loyal to those who have earned his love. You are one of them. He will be angry, yes. He might avoid you for a few days. But he will realize that his need for you is more important in the grand scheme of things than this mistake of yours." Alanna stopped, realizing that she had made a long speech.

"Do you really think so?" Daine asked. She knew she sounded petulant, and she was reminded of herself at age five, asking Sarra for confirmation on everything.

"Yes."

"But Numair, was, well, you know, supposed to be my-"

"I know, your first."

"Neal told you that too!" Daine asked indignantly.

"Shh, I have more to say. I hate to be rude about this, but you wouldn't have been Numair's first. And I wasn't George's first. Thayet wasn't Jon's first."

"But all of their first people were someone special!"

"Neal's not special?" Alanna asked, feeling a little loyal toward her former squire.

"Well, I didn't mean it like that! Alanna, you know exactly what I mean!"

Alanna sighed and blew her hair out of her face. "Look, nowhere did I say what you did was right. You made a mistake and now you have to suffer the consequences. At least you didn't end up killing someone." Alanna's eyes clouded over as she said this, and Daine immediately felt stupid.

"Alanna, I can deal with this now. Really. I think you should go get some sleep. You've been helping me out all day."

Alanna nodded. "All right, I'll leave." She stood up, running a hand through her hair. "Just tell him." With that, she left. Daine sat on her bed, pondering what to do next.

* * *

"I can't believe you did that," Yuki said sadly.

"Neither can I," Neal mumbled. He was expecting her to get angry, not be so disappointed. It made him feel guiltier.

"Do you realize that none of this would've happened if you hadn't started drinking?" she asked. "I told you that it would be the ruin of you, and now you've hurt me, Numair, Daine, and yourself. When is it going to stop, Neal?"

Neal bowed his head, feeling truly admonished. But he didn't have an answer.

"I forgive you for what you did. But until you stop drinking, I really don't want to be with you," Yuki said suddenly. Neal snapped his head up.

"But that's not fair!"

"Yes it is. This one mistake is bad enough, but what about the next one? You've tried so many ways to nip the drinking habit in the bud, but none of them worked." She stopped and drew a breath. "Maybe I will."

* * *

The talk with the king had gone well. Numair had long gotten over any nervousness he had when speaking to Jon. But the thought of the conversation he was about to have was making his palms sweat. He paused outside his rooms, gathering his thoughts. It had been a long time since he had first attempted this topic of conversation with her. But he was so ready to try it again, no matter what the consequences. Goddess help me. He shook his head to clear it and opened the door, only to find Daine about to open it herself. He grinned at her, and she smiled uncertainly back at him.

"I have to tell-" they both began. That was quite cliché, Numair thought to himself.

"You go first," Daine said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, please go ahead." There was a pleading look in her eyes, so he gave in. He ushered her inside the room. Then he grasped both of her hands in her own. He kneeled down and cleared his throat.

"Daine, I love you. You know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to have children with you and grow old together." He paused. "Though I'll probably grow old first. But I digress. Veralidaine Sarrasri, will you marry me?"


	5. Shocking Discoveries

Kel wiped the sweat off her brow after completing an intricate pattern dance with her glaive. She set the weapon down and moved to the center of the room to stretch out her aching muscles. Kel's sparrows suddenly began chirping as they left their spot on the windowsill and flew over to the door, just as someone knocked hesitantly from the other side. Kel followed the birds to where they fluttered around the door. She opened the door to see her best friend, Neal, standing there, running his fingers through his hair. 

"Neal?" He looked at Kel, his face unusually pale. The birds, seeing that Kel's guest was a friend silently flew back to their seat on the sunbathed windowsill. "Neal, what's wrong?" He didn't say anything but walked into her room and stood awkwardly next to the bed. She closed the door and followed him, her brow creased with concern. She laid a hand on his arm and addressed him again. "Neal–" 

"It's Yuki. " Kel was very familiar with Neal's inclination to be overly dramatic. However, he looked truly upset. 

"Is she alright?" Kel prompted, when he didn't say anything more. He nodded in response and plopped down on the bed. Kel looked down at him a moment then joined him. 

He let out a huge sigh and finally broke the silence as he looked at his hands resting in his lap. "I... I've been with another woman." He knit his eyebrows together and bit his lip, obviously feeling remorse for his hasty actions. 

Speechless, Kel looked at him. He looked so miserable that Kel actually felt sorry for him. He was her best friend, after all. But Yuki was Kel's closest female friend and had been since they were children. She couldn't believe that Neal would cheat on Yuki. He was so obviously in love with her. Kel remained silent, pondering Neal's shocking confession. 

One eyebrow raised, Neal stole a sideways glance at her, trying to evaluate her reaction. Though she kept her emotions to herself, he could see that she was stunned.

"I didn't mean to! Just one time, last night, I–" 

"Last night?"

Exasperated, Neal continued. "Yes, Kel, that's what I said, Daine and I went to the Dancing Dove and then she came back to my rooms and–"

Kel shook her head. "Neal, you couldn't have been with Daine last night. _I_ was with you." 

Neal suddenly paled, his eyes wide with horror. "What? Kel... wow. I didn't–" 

"Not like _that_ you Meathead!" Kel blushed, embarrassed at Neal's inaccurate interpretation of her words. 

"Oh." 

"You were walking back from town, by yourself, and we had to practically carry you up to your rooms," Kel explained quickly. 

"We?"

"Oh...Dom and I." Kel's cheeks turned a faint pink, but Neal didn't notice. He was too occupied praying to the Gods that his dear cousin hadn't seen anything he shouldn't have; for Neal's sake. Dom had a way of never letting Neal's most humiliating moments be forgotten. 

"You know...I can't remember a thing. But if you're sure that I was alone last night, well then...I've been perfectly faithful to Yuki! And what else would I be? A man like myself, a brave knight and–"

"Neal. Maybe you should go talk to her, don't you think?" He stood up, feeling much more steady and composed than when he'd entered. He clasped Kel's shoulder his mind already elsewhere and left the room, forgetting to close the door behind him. Kel smirked slightly and shut the door to resume her morning exercises. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Neal strode down the large hallways of the palace towards Yuki's room. He was already playing out the scenario in his head; he would exuberantly apologize to his lover and explain the misunderstanding and she would lovingly accept him back. Just as he began to imagine their reconciliation, he stopped short. He had an epiphany which caused him to turn around, perplexed, and walk in the other direction with a new purpose. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Numair, I have to tell you something." Daine took a deep breath, preparing herself. As she opened her mouth to continue, a knock sounded on the door, startling the couple. Daine composed herself and opened the heavy oak door. 

Neal stood there looking anxious. As soon as Neal saw her face he spit out, "Daine! It wasn't me! I mean- Kel and Dom dragged me up to my room. I guess we were both so drunk that you thought it was me but you must have gone back to someone else's rooms..." He stopped suddenly. Daine's face held a look of surprise, confusion, and horror. He looked past Daine to see Numair standing behind her...

  


A/N: Woo! It's been a LONG time since this story has been updated. Sorry guys! But here it is! I hope you all like it. And REVIEW! Reviews are good motivation to update sooner! Instead of like once every few months.... But now it's Lady Swathi's turn (as we are taking turns writing chapters) and I gave her a nice cliffy-type-thing to make it extra difficult for her. Hehehe.


	6. Figuring Things Out

A/N: Okay, I'm an awful horrible person for not having written my chapter in 7 months, and I'm really sorry. But it's here now. And if Modern Guru will write the next chapter really quickly, maybe we can start a trend! Enjoy!

She turned around slowly, afraid of what expression could possibly be on Numair's face. She dimly heard the sounds of Neal making his escape. She looked up at her tall lover and saw that he wore a look of dejection. _Damn._

"Numair-"

The mage held up a hand, and avoided making eye contact with her. "No, Magelet, there's no need to explain. I knew it would come to this someday. After all, I'm fourteen years your senior. You need someone your age."

Daine couldn't believe what she was hearing. Torn between anxiety and frustration, she cried, "Numair, listen to yourself! I don't care about your age!"

"So where were you last night?" he asked softly. 

Daine slumped back against the wall. "I was drunk. I don't have a better explanation."

"Daine, you don't even know who you were with," Numair said, gently. The soft tone of his voice perplexed Daine. Why wasn't he angry with her? "Look, you need some time to think. Please forget I proposed to you, and just mull over what and who you want." Numair opened the door of their room. "I'll stay with Lindhall. Take as long as you want, Magelet." He walked out of the room. Daine sunk down to the floor in defeat.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alanna strode quickly down the stone hallway. She had just spoken with a very teary Daine, and if she knew her friend Numair, he would be close to tears also. She stopped in front of the mage's new residence with Lindhall, and knocked on the door.

"Hello, Alanna."

Alanna smiled. "Hello, Lindhall. How are you?"

"I'm doing quite well, actually. But I suspect it's not me you meant to ask that question to."

Alanna grinned. "Mages are smarter than they look."

Lindhall returned her smile. "Numair is in the back room."

"Thanks." The Lioness walked in the direction Lindhall indicated and knocked on the door. "It's me, Numair."

"Come in," she heard him flatly reply. She opened the door and walked in. She found her old friend lying glumly on his bed. 

She sat in a wooden chair next to him. "How are you?" she asked gently.

Numair conjured up a small ball of light and started tossing it. "Wonderful. The woman I love doesn't love me anymore, but other than that, life couldn't be any better."

Alanna had to bite her cheek from responding snappily. "Misery doesn't suit you, Numair. And as for Daine not loving you, that's ridiculous. She was inconsolable. She wanted to be with you, she missed you."

"Who did she spend last night with?"

"You don't know?" Numair shook his head, focusing on his ball, and Alanna sighed. Her job many times required her to be the bearer of bad news. It never became easier for her. " Sir Nealan of Queenscove."

Numair, dropping the ball, looked puzzled. "No, it wasn't him."

"What?"

"He came in right after I had proposed to Daine, and said it wasn't him, Daine must've gone back to someone else's rooms."

"But both he and Daine were convinced it was him." She straightened up. "I think we need to have one final talk with my former squire."

"What good will it do? The bottom line is Daine slept with someone. And that someone wasn't me."

"Numair, I'm not excusing her. But she was drunk, and it was a mistake, a mistake she truly regrets. But something seems very wrong about this whole thing, and I think we should go talk to Neal and see what's going on. Are you coming or not?"

Numair sighed. "I supposed I have nothing left to lose." He got up off his bed and followed the Lioness back out into the hallway.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Neal pounded on Yuki's door for the fifth time. "Yuki, please open the door!" There was no answer. Desperate, Neal shouted, "Look, you don't have to forgive me, but I think I got someone else in trouble and I really need your help to sort it out! Please, Yuki!"

The door opened a crack. "What did you and your idiocy do this time?" For all her Yamani control, Yuki's voice was so icy that Neal cringed.

"I think I made things worse for Daine."

"You expect me to help you help the woman you slept with?" Yuki asked incredulously.

"I didn't sleep with her! Kel can vouch for that. It's true that I was with her at the Dancing Dove, but we must've left separately. Kel and Dom saw me walking back alone."

The door opened a little more. "You were really with Kel?"

Neal thanked the Goddess that Yuki and Kel were such good friends. "Yes, I was."

Some of Yuki's anger seemed to disappear, but then came back full force. "The point is, Neal, you keep drinking. You're going to drink yourself into ruin! Maybe you didn't do anything bad this time. But what about the next?"

"Yuki, I promise I will try my hardest to ensure that there won't be a next time. But I need your help for that," he pleaded. Yuki seemed to take that into consideration, but still didn't Neal into her room.

"So then who was Daine with?"

"I don't know, that's the problem!"

"Did you tell her she wasn't with you?"

"Maybe you two would be better off having this conversation inside Yuki's room instead of announcing it to all of Corus?" a voice interjected. Neal turned around to see the Lioness and the person he least expected to be with her."May we come in?" Numair politely asked Yuki.


	7. Everything Starts to Make Sense

Neal felt his cheeks growing red. The whole situation was so embarrassing and Neal felt responsible. Not only had he caused Daine and Numair to break up but Yuki might never trust him again as she had before. As he stood in the hall, Yuki invited Numair and Alanna inside. She turned and looked at Neal. 

"Are you going to just stand there or are you coming in?" Neal looked up at her and smiled, sheepishly. He followed Yuki into the room, closing the door behind him. 

Numair and Alanna both sat down and Neal stood against the wall, awkwardly. He felt like he was a page again and he was caught without his homework. 

"Would you like anything to drink?" Yuki asked. She was relieved when they shook their heads in decline. She was ready to figure out this mess. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kel was getting tired of so many interruptions in one day. First Neal, then a messenger from Raoul. It was a rare time for her; a whole month when she could take some time off to relax and spend some time at the palace. Grudgingly, she got up, went to the door, and opened it. Owen of Jesslaw stood there, fidgeting with his tunic. 

"Owen!" Kel exclaimed. She reached out and gave her friend a hug. "How long have you been at the palace?"

"I just got here last night. It's jolly to be back, but I had the strangest night." He followed Kel into her rooms as he continued. "I went down the Dancing Dove and the Wildmage was there, completely drunk!" Kel's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. 

"I know! I was surprised too! I didn't think that she–"

"Owen, please tell me you didn't take her back to your rooms." Owen looked at Kel, puzzled. 

"I just walked her home! She looked like needed help getting back to her rooms. And it was lucky I was there to help her! She fell asleep as soon as I put her on her bed." 

"You mean, she went right up to her rooms? From the Dancing Dove."

"Uh huh." Owen nodded, confused. 

"We have to find Neal!" Kel got up pulled Owen with her as they went out in search of their green-eyed friend. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"But why would she have thought it was you?" Alanna squinted in confusion. She wanted to help Daine, who was so distraught, but it just kept getting more confusing. There was a loud knock on the door, startling everyone in the room. Neal, who was closest to the door, answered it. "Hello, Kel. Owen! Has Wyldon finally tired of you and sent you back to the palace?" 

"Enough, Neal," Kel interrupted. "Owen took Daine back to her rooms last night. He saw her at the Dancing Dove so he walked her home. She didn't go to _anyone's_ rooms, just her own." 

Numair looked up. "Are you sure?" Owen and Kel both nodded in response. Numair's morose mood suddenly brightened. "I have to talk to her!" He flew out of the now crowded room, leaving everyone else behind to wonder. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After a lengthy search, Numair found Daine sitting in Cloud's stall. "Magelet," he called to her, softly. She looked up at him. "Do you remember anything that happened last night?" Daine thought for a moment. 

"I only remember going down to the Dancing Dove with Neal and having a few drinks. After that I remember being in Neal's room."

"Nothing in between?" Numair asked gently. 

"No. But I remember being with Neal. I remember it so specifically that I can't imagine it having been someone else." She blushed. 

"Daine, Owen of Jesslaw walked you up to your rooms last night from the Dancing Dove." Daine frowned. 

"He did?" 

"Yes."

"Well, then, why...." Daine's blush deepened. 

"What is it?" Daine's sudden realization made her feel so embarrassed she could hardly explain what had really happened to Numair. 

"I woke up in my own bed this morning and neither Neal nor I went anywhere but our own rooms last night." She paused, equally embarrassed for having made such a mess of things as for what she was about to admit to. "It was just a dream." 

Numair pondered this for a moment, then let out a small laugh, feeling silly for having been so upset. Then he stopped laughing. "You mean you have dreams about you and Neal?!"

Though it seemed impossible, Daine's cheeks grew even redder. 

A/N: Well... here it is! It's finished! Wahoo. Hope you've all enjoyed this lovely little fic by Lady Swathi and myself. Please review! It's greatly appreciated. We enjoy any and all feedback. 


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